Trial of Insight
by darkruler64
Summary: Starkiller's training is nearly complete, but he must face one of his most perilous trials yet. Once again, he must dive headfirst into the haunted Jedi Temple.


As the Rogue Shadow approached the Jedi Temple, Starkiller spotted a squad of stormtroopers gathered at the entrance just like last time. They were bound to be ready for intruders after the chaos he'd created last time, not that it mattered in the slightest. Juno lowered the ramp and he strode right out. A figure in a grey robe armed with a bladed force pike was approaching him. It wore a silver helmet that bore a resemblance to one of the Emperor's Royal Guards. Starkiller knew at once what it was, for his master had insisted that he study every variety of the Emperor's minions, it was an Imperial Sentinel.

"The Emperor has decreed a quarantine." said the sentinel, his voice disguised by a vocoder in his helmet. "Stop and prepare to be det…GA-AC-C-CK!"

Starkiller reached out with the force and seized him by the throat. He hurled him toward the panicked stormtroopers who took cover behind pillars and started tossing grenades and thermal detonators at him. He waved his hands and sent the explosives back at the troopers, the resulting explosions caused them to be buried in rubble. He looked around at Coruscant's never-ending air traffic and felt confident that everyone was too far away from the temple to notice the chaos. He ventured into the main hall and was confronted by a legion of troopers just like last time, though they were noticeably better armed. He darted behind a pillar as one of them opened fire on him with an E-WEB turret. He reached out from behind the pillar and took control of the turret with the Force. He lifted it into the air and made it fire on the surrounding troopers. Their panicked shrieks and pitiful cries exasperated him.

"I'm too young to – GAHH!"

"Does anyone else wanna – ACK!"

He rolled out from behind the pillar and unleashed a web of Force lightning, blasting more of them into the walls.

"How the hell are we supposed to defend against – Auuugh!"

_What pathetic excuses for soldiers. _Starkiller thought.

The original Clone Troopers would have been much more of a challenge to him as well as better defenders of the empire. What it had instead were these idiots…and all because the Emperor had apparently decided that an army of genetically identical soldiers was susceptible to corruption. The old man had a lot to answer for and he couldn't wait for the moment he and his master would strike him down together. Many times he'd fantasized about sneaking up on the emperor and overwhelming him with lightning, so his master could run him through with his lightsaber. It gave him a thrill.

"_It is not too late…" _a familiar voice echoed. _"Do not blind yourself with anger. Search your feelings for the truth."_

It was the same voice that whispered to him during his first trip here. Maybe it was the spirit of one of the many Jedi who died here trying to confound him. He reached out, seized two snipers on a nearby stairway and hurled them into the walls. He made his way up the stairs and into a dark corridor lined with holobook cases. He recognized this place as the old Jedi Archives. The dark side was strong here.

He jumped down to the lower level searching for whatever it was that was waiting for him and saw something that made him feel strangely uneasy…Juno…she was kneeling on the floor, looking as though she were injured. He rushed over to see what was wrong with her and only when he was inches away from her did he feel the power of the dark side within her…it was not Juno. The apparition drew a long lightsaber hilt and a crimson blade shot out from both ends. The apparition was a tall green female theelin with blue hair and yellow eyes, clad in a dark purple Sith gown. The room around them became distorted and Starkiller's vision was becoming somewhat blurry, he saw the world through a dark blue veil.

"The scent of your fear is intoxicating." the theelin Sith hissed.

Starkiller barely evaded a bolt of white-hot lightning and tried to counter with a bolt of his own, but the theelin Sith only laughed.

"You cannot hide your secret terror…you cannot hide from your past."

"Past? I have no past!" Starkiller spat.

He slashed wildly with his lightsaber and began hurling lightning bolts in all directions, but the theelin Sith's laughter echoed around him. He could just make out a dark shape and two spinning crimson blades swooping down for him and he parried the blades. The theelin Sith danced around him, swinging her blades with deadly precision. Starkiller whipped his own blade around furiously, ignoring the painful burns he suffered. He tried slashing at the Sith, but he became disoriented and ended up slashing some nearby bookcases. He could feel terror choking his heart…terror he'd not felt in years.

He felt a dozen hot bolts penetrate him, bringing him to his knees. Knowing how close he was to failing his master began molding his fear into rage. He spread his arm and roared loudly, unleashing a rippling wave of force-energy that tore the archives apart. He shut his eyes tight and could make out a red glow coming toward him. He parried the theelin Sith's relentless strikes and flipped over her.

He made a few lightning-infused slashed of his own, which she barely held her own against. She leapt high above him and flung her double-saber, which he sliced in half. He then seized her with the force and sent clusters of lightning into her. Finally he slammed her on the floor and lifted his blade to run her through. The the last of her strength, she morphed her face into that of Juno.

"Please…don't." she moaned in Juno's voice.

Starkiller bared his teeth, insulted by this display and he plunged his blade through the theelin Sith's face. She dissolved into dark blue smoke and he was thrown back by a wave of malevolent energy. When he got to his feet, he turned around to see his master approaching him and he dropped to one knee in an instant.

"Well done, my apprentice!"

Never had he heard that level of praise in his master's voice before. It took every bit of discipline he had to keep his nerves steady.

"You are ready to face a true Jedi Master now; Master Shaak Ti…one of the last surviving members of the old Jedi Counsel. She is on Felucia. You will need the full power of the dark side to defeat her."

The image of Lord Vader dissolved and PROXY staggered forward.

"Looks like this is the big one, Master." he said. "By the end of this day, I estimate you will have achieved your primary programming."

"Indeed." said Starkiller as PROXY accompanied him back to the Rogue Shadow.


End file.
